January 2026 Group Read Nominations > Likes and Comments

This is my first group post as a returned former moderator and I'm psyched to be back! It has occurred to me that I haven't read a good cosmic horror story in a while, so that genre is my theme for January! Please make your nominations below while keeping this in mind:

Please note our rules for nominating here and know that we enforce them: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Please also note that books we've read ias a group in the last 4-5 years are not eligible. Our previous reads can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Please see the first thread for definitions of cosmic horror!

Char wrote: "This is my first group post as a returned former moderator and I'm psyched to be back. It has occurred to me that I haven't read a good cosmic horror story in a while, so that genre is my theme for..."

Nominations will be open until 12.19.25 and the poll will open on the 20th.

From Alan's synopsis: I'd say it's more of an existential realization of the forces that make us insignificant, and the finding of forbidden/unknowable/unfathomable horrors that hide beneath the surface. Or something to that effect.


From Google: Cosmic horror, or Lovecraftian horror, is a genre focusing on humanity's insignificance in a vast, uncaring universe, exploring the terror that comes from realizing our world is just a tiny part of cosmic forces beyond our comprehension, often involving ancient, alien entities (like Great Old Ones) whose existence drives people to madness, and emphasizing themes of forbidden knowledge, existential dread, and powerlessness against unfathomable evils.

From Wiki:
Lovecraftian horror, also called cosmic horror or eldritch horror, is a subgenre of horror, fantasy fiction, and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovecra...

Welcome back, Char, so good to see you back!

I'll nominate
A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror

I'll nominate Tomb of the Black Pharaoh Book 1 of "Danforth: Eldritch Tales of WWII"

INELIGIBLE PREVIOUS READS ALPHABETICALLY BY TITLE

14 by Peter Clines

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
Bad Dolls by Rachel Harrison
Bag of Bones by Stephen King
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
Below by Laurel Hightower
Between Two Fires by by Christopher Buehlman
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
Blister by Jeff Strand
The Boatman's Daughter by Andy Davidson
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon
Boys in the Valley by Philip Fracassi
The Broken Girls by Simone St James
Brother by Ania Ahlborn
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Bunny by Mona Awad
The Burning Girls by C J Tudor
Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco

The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
Camp Slaughter by Sergio Gomez
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
The Carrow Haunt by Darcy Coates
Castaways by Brian Keene
The Cellar by Richard Laymon
The Changeling by Victor LaValle
Chills by Mary SanGiovanni
Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare
Clowns Vs. Spiders by Jeff Strand
Colony by Benjamin Cross
Come Closer by Sara Gran
Come With Me by Ronald Malfi
Cunning Folk by Adam L.G. Nevill

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
Darkness on the Edge of Town by Brian Keene 2X
The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters
Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
The Deep by Nick Cutter
The Demonic by Lee Mountford
The Descent by Jeff Long
Desperation by Stephen King
The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn
The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias
Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling
Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne
Dracul by J.D. Barker
Dracula by Bram Stoker

Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin
The Elementals by Michael McDowell 2X
Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
Final Girls by Riley Sager
The Fireman by Joe Hill
The Fisherman by John Langan
From Below by Darcy Coates
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

A Gathering of Crows by Brian Keene
Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman
Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
Ghostland by Duncan Ralston
The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
The Girls by Emma Cline
Gone to See the River Man by Kristopher Triana
The Good House by Tananarive Due
The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Growing Things and Other Stories by Paul Tremblay

The Haar by David Sodergren
The Hacienda by Isabel Canas
The Halloween Children by Brian James Freeman
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon
The Haunted Forest Tour by Jeff Strand and James A. Moore
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Hell Hound by Ken Greenhall
Hell House by Richard Matheson
The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
Hide by Kiersten White
The Hollow Place by T. Kingfisher
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow by Christina Henry
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski 2X
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
The Hunger by Alma Katsu

I Found Puppets Living in My Apartment Walls by Ben Farthing
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt
Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
The Invited by Jennifer McMahon
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
It by Stephen King

Jaws by Peter Benchley
The Jigsaw Man by Gord Rollo
John Dies at the End by David Wong/Jason Pargin

Kill Creek by Scott Thomas
Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke
Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom

Larry by Adam Millard
Last Days by Adam Nevill
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist 2X
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
The Long Walk by Richard Bachman
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Maggie's Grave by David Sodergren
Malignant by Michaelbrent Collings
Man, Fuck This House by Brian Asman
Mary by Nat Cassidy
Maynard's House by Herman Raucher
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Midnight Meat Train by Clive Barker
Misery by Stephen King
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
The Mothman Prophecies by John A. Keel
Murder Road by Simone St. James
My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
The Nightmare Room by Chris Sorensen
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
No One Gets Out Alive by Adam L.G. Nevill
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill 2X

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay
Parasite by Darcy Coates
Pet Sematary by Stephen King

The Rats by James Herbert
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
The Reddening by Adam Nevill
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Revival by Stephen King
The Ritual by Adam Nevill
The Roo by Alan Baxter
The Root Witch by Debra Castaneda
Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
The Ruins by Scott Smith
The Running Man by Richard Bachman aka Stephen King

The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson
The Secret of Ventriloquism by Jon Padgett
Seed by Ania Ahlborn
The September House by Carissa Orlando
The Shining by Stephen King
The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder
Slade House by David Mitchell
Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon
Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell
Stranded by Bracken MacLeod
Strange Weather by Joe Hill
Subhuman by Michael McBride
Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie
Suffer the Children by John Saul
Suicide Forest by Jeremy Bates
Summer of Night by Dan Simmons
Sundial by Catriona Ward
Survive the Night by Riley Sager
Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
The Terror by Dan Simmons 2X
They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
Thinner by Richard Bachman
Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims
This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer
Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman 2X
The Troop by Nick Cutter
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

Usher's Passing by Robert McCammon

Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories
Vampire on the Orient Express by Shane Carrow
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
The Vessel by Adam Nevill

The Watchers by A.M. Shine
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson 2X
We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough
We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon
Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham
The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics

You Like it Darker by Stephen King

Love a good cosmic horror, I can’t wait to see all the recommendations!

Lucia wrote: ""

author self promotion is NOT ALLOWED in group reads

I second Library at Mount Char

I nominate:

Mean Spirited by Nick Roberts

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

👻

By the Light of Dead Stars

The Claw of Craving by Joseph Sale

I nominate Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs

Dale wrote: "I second Library at Mount Char"

This was a previous group read and is thus ineligible.

My nomination:
The Underdwelling

I’ll nominate The Haunted Forest Tour by Jeff Strand and James A. Moore! Thanks!!

Matthew wrote: "I’ll nominate The Haunted Forest Tour by Jeff Strand and James A. Moore! Thanks!!"

This was a previous group read and is thus ineligible.

+1 By the Light of Dead Stars

our Winter Monster - Dennis Mahoney

“Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories" by Alex Shvartsman

Lovecraft Reanimated project

Alien Gods
Come Down to a Lower Place
The Call of the Friend

Thanks, Inci!

Seeing some great noms so far. I’m giving a +1 to Southern Gods. I’ve been wanting to read that!

Those nominations that we’ve already read as a group will not count, but feel free to nominate something else.

Houses Under the Sea

The Night That Finds Us All by John Hornor Jacobs.

+1 for Southern Gods.

MY NAME ISN'T PAUL by Drew Huff - - cosmic horror in a lighter vein

I nominate Parachute by Holly Rae Garcia

Im still sitting here stunned by the amazing artwork in your message Char... thinking of noms now, also welcome back <3

WendyB wrote: "By the Light of Dead Stars"

+1 ohh this looks amazing

Kasia wrote: "WendyB wrote: "By the Light of Dead Stars"

+1 ohh this looks amazing"

It's really good. It's the first in a series but it can stand alone.
The third book comes out in just a few weeks and I can hardly wait.

I nominate Face the Night

I haven't read it but it sounds like it has some fantasy elements and/or is about a larger conspiracy

+1 By The Light Of Dead Stars

+1 By The Light Of Dead Stars

I nominate:

Stephen King's N.



This short story/novella was in the collection; Just After Sunset, and is also in graphic novel form.

i will Nominate: Stonefish by Scott R. Jones
A modern work of cosmic horror exploring ancient intelligence, reality distortion, and humanity’s insignificance in the face of vast, unknowable forces.

Stephanie wrote: "My nomination:
The Underdwelling"

That freaking novella is so damned good!

Raghu wrote: "i will Nominate: Stonefish by Scott R. Jones
A modern work of cosmic horror exploring ancient intelligence, reality distortion, and humanity’s insignificance in the face of vast, unknowable forces."

Dayum, Stonefish sounds good!

I'm going to plus + By the Light of Dead Stars

I nominate:



The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies by John Langan

+1 Stonefish
+1 Southern Gods
+1 The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies

+1 The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies

+1 Winter Monster - Dennis Mahoney

reply | flag

Love me some John Langan and I haven't read that one yet!

Kasia wrote: "Im still sitting here stunned by the amazing artwork in your message Char... thinking of noms now, also welcome back <3"

Thank you, Kasia! From you that means a lot!

I nominate Native Fear by C.F. Page


+1 The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies

I’ll nominate Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud

Mike wrote: "I’ll nominate Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud"

GREAT novella!

Raghu wrote: "i will Nominate: Stonefish by Scott R. Jones
A modern work of cosmic horror exploring ancient intelligence, reality distortion, and humanity’s insignificance in the face of vast, unknowable forces."

+1 Stonefish

+ Stonefish
+1 Crypt of the Spider Moon
+1 Native Fear

+1 The Underdwelling
+1 By The Light of Dead Stars
+1 Mean Spirited
+1 Native Fear

What Swallows the Light: Alien Horror Novellas

I have a few in mind, one is The Way Up is Death by Dan Hanks


The Way Up is Death


When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND.

As a grieving teacher, a reclusive artist, and a narcissistic celebrity children’s author lead the others in trying to understand why they’ve been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone… is up.

And so begins a race to the top, through sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares, as the group fights to hold onto its humanity, while the twisted horror of why they’re here grows ever more apparent – and death stalks their every move.